Residences, businesses, and other organizations are using color-changing and mode-changing lighting for aesthetic and functional purposes, especially as architectural lighting. The flexibility of changeable lighting reduces the need for special purpose and seasonal lighting. However, active control of such changeable lighting is time-consuming, user-intensive, or requires expensive equipment, especially for creating multi-color color-changing “scenes” or patterns for seasonal or informational display. Additionally, improvements are always wanted in the accuracy of emergency information, the efficiency of its dissemination to first responders and the public, and the universality of easily remembered and used codes to indicate or report an emergency.